The present invention relates to sinks and shampoo bowls of the type commonly used in beauty salons and barber shops.
Shampoo bowls of this general type typically include a forward edge portion that is formed with a so-called neck rest. The neck rest is a rearwardly extending, rounded cut-out adapted to define a forwardly and upwardly facing depression adapted to receive an individual's neck.
When shampooing an individual's hair in a beauty salon or barber shop, it is common practice to seat the individual in a chair that is positioned forwardly of the shampoo bowl, and tilt the individual's head backward over the bowl. Preferably, the individual's neck is received into and generally supported by the neck rest formed in the bowl.
Numerous prior apparatus and methods have been adapted to allow persons of different heights rest his or her neck into the neck rest of the shampoo bowl. A common technique is to provide for a chair with an adjustable seat height such as Shoji, U.S. Pat. No. 3,810,673, Benting, U.S. Pat. No. 4,918,767, and Kanaya U.S. Pat. No. 5,257,851. However, these disclosures involve relatively complicated and expensive apparatus.
Alternately, chairs may be provided with pivotally connected backs to enable each person to reposition the angle of the back, and the position of the chair inwardly and outwardly from the bowl so as to adjust the length between the chair seat and the neck rest. Frequently, however, the individual will not make the necessary adjustment, but will simply "slide" up or down in the chair, thus leaving the lower back unsupported.
In some "European-style" arrangements, the shampoo bowl and chair are connected to a pedestal for positioning in a room such that the beautician or barber stands behind the bowl to wash the individual's hair. In this instance, the shampoo bowl may be pivotally mounted to the pedestal to enable positioning of the bowl to accommodate an individual's height. However, such an arrangement has met with limited acceptance in the United States because the shampoo bowl is traditionally and typically mounted to a wall, and the beautician or barber stands adjacent the bowl when washing the individual's hair.
Another prior apparatus provides for a wall-mounted sink that is adapted for selective linear positioning upwardly and downwardly. This apparatus includes foot-operated means for adjusting the height of the sink in a action similar to a hydraulic beauty or barber chair. However, this apparatus is also substantially more expensive than a simple wall-mounted shampoo bowl.